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All unknown composers are women!

The woman´s role as a composer has been hidden during history - especially in epoches of early music. SEMF takes a stand and renames the masculine noun Anonymous to ANONYMA in its programme. A tribute to the unknown female composers through time. Until else is proven.

Peter Pontvik
Artistic Director SEMF

The baroque roots of flamenco and Corsican mystery!

Where does all the Iberian folk music, that always seems to have been there, come from? Where does the flamenco have its roots? What did the long journey of the fandango from baroque up to nowadays look like? From castle and hut, from streets and celebration, filtered through the fiery sounding body of the baroque guitar, which provides the frantic rythms its special colour – new but old and oh so catchy…Stockholm Early Music Festival presents the multifaceted Uruguayan born baroque guitarist Rafael Bonavita, Friday 6 June at 6 PM in the Finnish Church. 24 hours later, Saturday 7 June at the same time and place/6 PM also in the Finnish Church it is time for another matchless Mediterranian experience; Corsican polyphonic singing tradition, springing from the depths of history. The six emotive male voices of A Filetta are messengers of an archaic polyphony, that has been existing on this Mediterranean island for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. A concertante reflection of deep roots and a strong identity, with an openness to the world.

Wedding with Bach and the Spanish Golden Age at this year´s festival

Wedding hysteria with Bach! Joshua Rifkin, international frontman and Bach expert, known for his poetic interpretations of the Baroque master, visits Stockholm for the first time. During Stockholm Early Music Festival the 70 year old American maestro, together with the German soprano Ulrike Hofbauer as soloist, invites the audience to two cantatas for wedding feasts, Saturday 7 June at 9 PM in the German Church.
After 35 years of international activity and 40 CD-recordings, the Ensemble Gilles Binchois, conducted by Dominique Vellard, has assumed a special status among interpreters of sacred music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. With an excellent timbre and a dense vocal beauty, the ensemble addresses the Spanish Golden Age in its performance Friday 6 June at 9 PM in the German Church.

Leonardo da Vinci instrument visits Stockholm – world sensation!

An exclusive world sensation that mustn´t be missed – only at Stockholm Early Music Festival! The instrument Viola organista, one of its kind, was invented and designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1489 and has now, after 500 years of waiting, been built by the Polish musician Sławomir Zubrzycki. Its first foreign trip goes to Sweden, when the biggest festival for Early Music in the Nordic countries on Sunday 8 June in the House of Nobility presents it to the public with three unique concerts at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Zubrzycki will not only tell the audience about the instrument´s background but also among others play Orlando di Lasso, Marin Marais and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Festival updates!

Early Late Night Concert with Ensemble Flautino Friday 6 june and Saturday 7 june both starts at 11.00 pm and not at 10.45 pm.

The ticket office by the German Chuch will be opened from 10.00 am Sunday 8 june for the ones who needs to pick up their tickets for "The Sound of Da Vinci" in Riddarhuset.

Photo: SvD 2014-04-07

British website ranks SEMF among "Sweden´s 10 Unmissable Festivals"!

Stockholm Early Music Festival has been listed by the English website www.theculturetrip.com asone of 10 Swedish must-see-festivals this summer! "A collection of some of the best musicians from Scandinavia and around the world come together to perform iconic and little known pieces from the baroque, renaissance and medieval periods." The article also says that the event "lends an air of sophistication and elegance to the whole idea of a music festival."

The Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet also writes about SEMF 2014, please see the short notice beside.

The largest festival for early music in the Nordic countries opens 4/6 with L´ARPEGGIATA!

Photo: Christina Pluhar

4-8 June 2014, for the 13th consecutive year, Stockholm Early Music Festival presents about twenty international concerts - the season´s climax for the Early Music Lover. For the first time even the Swedish Arts Council has highlighted SEMF as an "event of national interest".

A brilliant festival opening is expected by L´Arpeggiata under the direction of Christina Pluhar, right now probably the most sought-after Baroque ensemble in Europe. Plausibly many in the Swedish audience will say Finally! The programme "Mediterraneo", containing singing and dancing, takes place Wednesday 4 June in the German Church in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm. Mediterraneo has its starting point in Greek songs and Italian tarantellas (they were supposed to heal spider bites..!). A captivating musical voyage through Greece, Turkey, Spain and Portugal focusing on the beginning of the 17th century and the power of the Mediterranean Sea connecting cultures!